Bittersweet Goodbye
by rcf1989
Summary: A teenage boy's been kidnapped, Major Crimes doesn't have any leads and Captain Raydor is fumming because they can't find the boy. And then, tragedy strikes. Brenda/Flynn, Flynn/Raydor and Brenda/Raydor friendships implied but not really developed.


**A/U. This turned out to be longer than I expected it to be. But now I'll start with the little warning of character death (not anyone we know, don't worry) and someone almost getting strangled as well**.** The idea came up from nowhere, just from how I feel lately, and yes I decided to imply Brenda/Flynn, Flynn/Raydor and Brenda/Raydor friendships here but not really developed. I guess that's because those three are my favorite characters on the show.**

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"Do you want to know why am I so interested on this case, Chief?" Captain Raydor asked, her green eyes now looking darker and more dangerous than ever. "Eh? Do you _really_ want to know?" Her voice was clearly showing more anger than Brenda had ever seen in her life, well, almost.

"Captain Raydor..." The blonde said in a warning tone. "Please, calm down. There is no need for..."

"For what?"

"This... Behaviour. You're losing your north, Captain."

"My north? That's rich coming from you." To say those words were spat like venom was the understatement of the week.

"That's enough!" Brenda exclaimed as she stood up from her chair. "I will not tolerate this behaviour, Captain. This is not... Well, you!"

"And who do you think I am? You know nothing about me. You might know who I am at work, but that means nothing."

Those usually expresive eyes were turning more and more dangerous by the minute. Brenda knew she shouldn't be afraid but deep down, the way the brunette was staring at her was almost scaring her to death though she'll never admit it. She knew she had to change her approach if she wanted to turn that almost screaming match into a normal conversation.

"You asked me if I want to know why you're so interested in my case. Well, tell me. I do want to know why you're almost breathing down my neck with every step I take in this investigation."

"Find. The. Boy." Raydor hissed.

"That's... That's certainly not the answer I was expecting."

"Find him and you'll know why I'm..." Right then the Captain's phone started to ring, and quickly fished for it in her jacket. She talked fast, well just when she did talk because she seemed too shocked to almost say a single word but when it did it was real quick. However, as soon as it was over, she glanced at the blonde for a second and then left her office running.

As Fritz walked into Brenda's office, he couldn't hide the astonished look on his face, especially after he saw how Andy Flynn run after the dark haired Captain.

"Did you two get into yet another fight?" He asked as he closed the door.

"Yes... No... I don't know, Fritzi. She was fine and then it was like... If she was out of her mind. Inquiring me about the case, it's like if this boy meant something to her." Brenda said sitting back on her chair behind her desk and as she opened the first drawer in her desk, she looked for a chocolate bar.

Sighing, Fritz walked over to the desk and sat on the edge, looking at his wife still roaming the drawer. "Any reason why she might be that interested?"

"No! And she's close to blaming me for not finding the boy. You know we're working hard to find him, especially considering the death threat."

"Any information about his family?"

"His father lost his custody, as well as the boy's siblings, when his wife filled for divorce. No information about the estranged wife or siblings. Or any other family member for that matter." Finally, Brenda found what she wanted and closed the drawer.

"And don't you think that, perhaps, Captain Raydor knows more than she's letting you know? Like usual?"

As Brenda was about to take a bite of the bar, she stopped her hand in mid air. "You don't think she's related to the boy, do you?" Brenda asked and then her eyes widened as she realized something. "Oh! How could be so stupid? Of course she has to be involved on this! And that boy... William... I knew I had seen those eyes before."

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Fritz was now confused.

"The green, it's this kind of light green that easily changes depending on the light. The Captain's eyes are like that and so are the boy's! They both have this... This kind of little black triangle in the iris."

"So?"

"That is genetical, Fritz! And the face structure is so similar! How couldn't I notice that before?" Brenda said, cursing herself for being so blind.

Standing up from her chair, she walked past her husband and outisde her office.

"Gentlemen." She said to get the attention of her squad. "Do any of you know where's Captain Raydor?"

"Ask Flynn, he's got quite the nice temporal tattoo." Provenza said and everyone laugh except for Flynn.

"Hey, now, it's not that funny. That woman knows how to slap you senseless when she sets her mind on it." Flynn said, making them laugh again.

"Lieutenant, why did Captain Raydor slap you?" Brenda asked, as now her curiosity was getting the best of her.

"I followed her as soon as she run out of your office, Chief."

"And what happened next?"

"She's in no mood to talk to anyone right now, hence the slap to send me away."

"Well, that is not something you'd expect her to do."

"Actually, she does that when she's hurting." Flynn said, and everyone looked at him, surprised. "What?"

"How could you know that?" Provenza asked.

"I just know her." Flynn said, shrugging his shoulders.

"And you know her..." Brenda said, expecting Flynn to clue them all in.

"Alright, alright. Raydor may as well later on hold a grudge for a long time but... Her husband was a jerk, he used to beat her up just for fun."

"Well, now that explains many things about her." Brenda murmured as her mind drifted back to the Ally Moore case, everything was making sense to her now.

"And you know this because...?" Gabriel now asked.

"Last time he landed a hand on her, I was sent to their home to see what the hell was going on and then I testified in her favour in their divorce."

"Did she ask you to do that?" Fritz asked as he now stood next to Brenda.

"No, but I thought it was what I had to do. He was rich, had the best lawyers in town and bribed some cops so that any evidence would disappear. When I was dispatched to their home, I walked in when he was beating the crap out of her; only witness."

"So Captain Raydor... Divorced, got full custody of her kids and I guess a good sum of money because you testified for her?" Brenda said, hoping to get it all right.

"She already had the money, rich LA girl, but yeah more from the jerk and the kids safe at home with her."

"And if you knew all this, why didn't you tell us it's her son, Lieutenant?" Brenda asked.

"I never met any of her kids! I don't know their names, either. Look, ever since, whenever there's something going on and we need to talk, I call her or she calls me."

"You're friends with her?" Tao asked.

"No, we're not but I guess some sort of... Support, if you want to give it a name. I can't even stand her, so like we could be friends."

"So, when you were the one beaten up that's why you called, her?" Brenda asked, knowing she was right as Flynn just nodded.

"Alright, so at least we know Captain Raydor's the mother of our missing kid, well or we suspect she is, and..." Brenda was saying but soon stopped as Sánchez got her attention. "What is it, Detective?"

"Bad news, Chief." He said and they all looked at him.

"How bad?" Brenda asked.

Sánchez shook his head and they all feared for the worst. "He's dead."

"Any idea where the Captain might be now, Lieutenant?" Brenda asked looking at Flynn.

"Her office?" He tried, almost making a mocking face.

"Seeing as you're the one who knows her best, let's go and find her." And before Flynn could complain, Brenda glared at him and he just followed her.

Brenda, who still had the chocolate bar in her hand, didn't know what to do with it. She couldn't eat in that moment, for she was feeling saddened for the Captain's loss, but she wasn't going to throw it away so she rewrapped it and placed it in a pocket in her jacket. She then glanced at Flynn, who stood beside her as they waited for the elevator.

"Do you think she knows her kid's..." Brenda couldn't bring herself into finishing that sentence.

"We're talking about Sharon, Chief, she knows. I wouldn't be surprised if that's why she runaway from your office. And I think that boy's her kid. There's some resemblance and the age is the same."

"Andy?" He looked down at his boss. "How well do you really know her? Or her kids?"

"Just what I said, she calls me or I call her when something rough is up, but nothing else. About the kids, not much, she has four. Three girls and the boy, he was the youngest."

Brenda sighed, as if they were right thet Captain just lost her baby boy. "Was she like this before her husband started to beat her up?"

"She always had temper, and played by the rules, but that whackjob she had as husband screw her up, a lot. She was nicer and friendly, made good jokes and now..."

Nodding, Brenda understood what he was trying to say. "Did she call you when her son went missing? If it is her kid anyway."

"No, she didn't. She didn't even consider him missing as when we were given the ransom report not even twelve hours have passed."

Brenda chuckled at that. "Always playing by the rules."

As the elevator's doors opened, they stepped inside and Flynn pushed the button for the right floor, both hoping to find the Captain in her office. They were silent as the lift moved them a few floors below, just like when they made their way over to FID. However, as soon as they arrived one of the Sergeants tried to stop them from walking into the brunette's office.

"Sergeant, is Captain Raydor in her office?" Brenda asked, as she saw all the blinds were turned so that nobody could see what was going on inside that room.

"Yes, she is Chief. But she did ask not to be disturbed."

"Well I'm afraid here Lieutenant Flynn and I must then disturb her."

"With all due respect, she did ask to be alone and only if some sort of red alert breaks through..."

"I am not gonna have it, Sergeant. I must speak to Captain Raydor and I will." Brenda certainly didn't want to waste her time, even if what was about to come was very uncertain.

"I'm sorry, I cannot..."

"Listen to me, kiddo. Here the Chief wants to talk with your superior, and she will whether you want it or not. She can be nice, or she can start pulling rank on all of us to get into that office." Flynn said. "So, do you want to play nice or get a lecture for disobeying a superior officer?"

"I uh... I..." The Sergeant then looked at Brenda. "I guess you can go inside, Chief."

"Thank you so much, Sergeant." Brenda said in her usual fake tone, pretending to be nice when she was annoyed.

Smirking, Flynn walked with her to the office and decided to wait outside, guarding the door, so that both ladies could be alone.

As she opened the door and walked in, Brenda was surrounded by darkness but she could hear the muffled sobs coming from the Captain, who seemed to be lost in her own world as she didn't stop crying.

"Sharon?" Brenda asked as she tried to figure out where the brunette was.

Hearing that voice, the brunette tried to stop crying. "Wha-what are yo-you doing he-here?" She asked between sobs.

"I came here to talk to you; you didn't really give me a chance before you left my office."

"Wha-what do yo-yo-you want?"

"Talk to you. Is the boy, William, your son?"

A light switched on the Captain's desk. She was holding a cushion close to her face as she was crying again, though she removed it for a split second to nod her head to answer the blonde's question. The sight of whom Brenda had considered one of the strongest officers in LA, in such state, was close to breaking her heart as if there was something a parent should never do was burying their kids and right now, the brunette before her had to do that. Bury one of her kids in the next few days.

Walking towards the desk, Brenda pulled one of the chairs with her to sit close to the Captain. As she sat down, she laid a hand over those shaky shoulders and gently stroke them.

"If there's anything I can do..." Brenda offered, meaning what she just said.

"Your... Job. Do your da-damned j-job!" Sharon exclaimed, her face still covered with the cushion.

"Pardon me?"

Letting the cushion fall on her lap, the brunette then looked at Brenda. Her green and expressive eyes were now bloodshot, tired and lifeless.

"Do your job." Raydor hissed. "If you had done it... Properly, William may still be... Ali...Aliv..." She couldn't bring herself into that.

"Are you insinuating I haven't done my job properly?"

"Yes. You barely got leads in 24 hours. You spent most of the day in your chair behind your desk. You've done nothing to..." Sharon was close to losing her mind over it.

"If you had told us you were his mother, we might've have somewhere to look! And you spent most of your day coming and going from Major Crimes."

"What did you expect me to do? Lock myself in my office?"

"You're that now!"

"Because he is dead!" Sharon yelled, making Brenda withdraw her hand.

Brenda did not expect that outburst but neither did anyone outside as she could hear Flynn.

"Hey, you! Go back to work or get the hell out of here. There's nothing here for any of you as entertainment so start working or get out." Flynn was saying probably to those trying to get close to the office, or so was Brenda thinking as a guess to what was happening outside.

As Brenda was about to speak, her cell rang so she picked it up and that got the brunette's attention. Quickly, the Chief hang up her phone and looked at the Captain.

"William's being brought to the morgue and... As the mother you need to..."

"Identify him to make sure it's him." Raydor said and then removed her glasses, almost throwing them to the desk.

Silence took over them, neither knowing what to do or say next. Sharon was trying to digest the news, her only son was now dead; she didn't really know who was behind that and yet she couldn't stop thinking it had been her ex-husband. Many times he had tried to hit their kids, but she never let him and so why she ended up being the one beaten up. The brunette didn't want to let those thoughts invade her, take over her and cloud her judgment but ever since she found out her son had been kidnapped that morning she had been blinded by her irrational thoughts and couldn't get anything done. This was just another example as to why she prefered not to get too close to her co-workers or subordinates, just in case anything happened to them she could do her job as everyone expected her to do.

Brenda was starting to feel more and more awkward by the minute. She had never been in the Captain's office before, so at least she took that chance to take a look to her surroundings. Not much could be seen, as the only light in the office was coming from the small lamp in the desk so Brenda's attention was brought there. As soon as she noticed the frames on the desk, she carefully looked at them. One of them had four photos, and if she was right they must be the brunette's kids when they all were younger, probably all the photos had been taken when each of them were around ten years old. Then, a most recent photo of the four of them and finally the four kids plus their mother. This last framed photo was the one Brenda reached for to look at it closer. As she did, she noticed two of the girls were twins and looked the most like the Captain, whereas the other girl who seemed to be older still had the resemblance but it was more like William's case, eyes and facial structure.

"The twins must've loved to play tricks on you." Brenda said, unable to hide her smile.

"They still do it." Sharon said, trying to smile at that thought but she was too tired and sad to smile. "If I'm in no mood for their tricks I only have to check the back of their necks."

"Birth mark?"

"Tattoo. I can tell who is who but sometimes they just want to try to confuse everyone behaving like the other."

Brenda smiled again and glanced at her watch. "They should be here already."

Nodding, Sharon opened a drawer and took a small bag. Opening it, she fished for a mirror and opened it to look at her reflection. "Oh God, what a mess." She then quickly started to fix her make up.

"How can you be so..."

"Vain? Brenda, a vain woman's always vain no matter how broken she is inside. Helps to pull the façade easier."

A few minutes later, Sharon was done and placed everything back in the small bag and the bag back in the drawer.

"So how do I look?"

"Vain and narcissist." Brenda said and Sharon glared at her. "Your make up's perfect just like usual."

Switching off the light, they both made their way out of the office and met up with Flynn, who was still waiting outside. They made their way to the elevators in silence, and remained like that all the way to the morgue. Arriving, the three of them put on the blue scrubs and gloves before walking in, as Dr. Morales was waiting for them though he was not expecting the brunette.

"Well, I hadn't been told Internal Affairs was involved in this case." The doctor said.

"It's not. William's my son, doctor." Raydor said, any emotion long gone from her voice.

"I uhm... I'm sorry for your loss, Captain." He then looked at Brenda. "Though I don't think she should..."

"Captain Raydor can stay if that's her wish. I know I would to know why and how my son had been murdered." Brenda said and the doctor just nodded.

"Then, let's get done with this."

They all walked to the table, covered with a blue sheet as it was hiding the body lying underneath. Looking at the Captain, Dr. Morales waited until she nodded to remove the sheet from the boy's head. Taking a deep breath, the brunette looked down to the young boy and she had to cover her mouth with one hand so that the sob that was about to escape her lips would not be heard. Seeing that reaction, Brenda didn't hesitate hugging the older woman.

"It's him." Sharon whispered in Brenda's ear, not wanting to let go of her superior officer as right now was like her lifeline.

Dr. Morales was about to speak but the look he got from Flynn stopped him from doing so. As the women finally pulled apart, though not fully as Sharon didn't let got of Brenda's hand. Flynn then stepped closer to them and laid a hand over Sharon's shoulder, making her look up at him and smile weakly though they both knew it was the best way she could say thank you at the moment.

"So." Dr. Morales said to get their attention. "I still have to do the autopsy, if Captain Raydor agrees to go on with it?" The brunette nodded. "Well then I won't have the final results until tomorrow but the preliminar exam pretty much gives us the cause of death."

"Which is?" Brenda asked.

"Asphyxia. I still have to see if he was suffocated with an object, like for example a pillow or cushion, or if he had been strangled."

Noticing how the Captain was shaking a little, both Brenda and Flynn held her tighter.

"If you take a look, you can see in his eyes petecheias in his eyes from the lack of oxygen as he was suffocated to death." He said as he opened the boy's eyelids and that was the final straw for the Captain as she quickly exited the morgue. "I'll have the results first thing in the morning, Chief."

"Thank you, doctor." Brenda said and left the morgue, closely followed by Flynn.

After removing their scrubs, they both made their way to find the brunette and they found her as she was stepping into the elevator.

"Sharon! Wait!" Flynn exclaimed and run to stop the doors from closing.

"What the hell do you want, Andy? Another slap?" Sharon said.

"Hey, you know I'm just trying to help." He said defending himself from that attack.

Brenda then walked into the elevator and pulled Flynn in as well so that the doors closed behind them; the blonde ignored Flynn as she talked with the Captain.

"We're going to find who did this, Sharon. And we'll make sure whoever did this pays for it." Brenda said.

"I only wish you could've found that son of a bitch before William died."

"So you think a man did this?" Brenda asked, as she tried to read the brunette's face.

"You're thinking of that jerk, aren't you?" Flynn asked, refering to her ex husband.

Before any of them could answer, the doors opened again as they were back in Major Crimes, so they stepped out and made their way to the murder room but they met with Gabriel on their way.

"Hey, Chief?" Gabriel said.

"Yes, Sergeant?"

"We found him. He was there when they found the boy, he confessed and they're going to..." Gabriel stopped mid sentence just as he noticed how the Captain's face changed.

They all looked where she was looking at but before they could stop her she had started to walk fast, her right hand turing into a fist right before she punched the man that Sánchez was scorting to an interview room, making the man fall down.

"Are you fucking happy now, Andrew?" The Captain yelled, leaving everyone speechless.

"As beautiful as ever, Sharon. I see you're not aging, still looking the same as the last time I saw you." Andrew said, still on the floor covering his nose as he was now bleeding.

"Shut up. You didn't have enough hurting me, that you now have to go after our children? What kind of sick bastard are you?"

"The one that managed to have you as wife for fifteen years." He said as he stood up and stepped closer to her.

"And those years, the only good things in my life were our kids and my job."

Smirking, he stepped closer to her and considering everyone was still shocked at how the brunette had reacted as soon as she saw her ex husband, as well as they didn't really know how to act, so he had the time to move quickly and pushed her towards the wall behind her; he then, with a hand was able to pin her up by the throat making her gasp for air. And right then Sánchez, Flynn and Gabriel reacted trying to pull Andrew away from her which they really manage to do until almost a minute later.

As they pulled him away from her, Sharon fell down to the floor trying to breathe as he had been close to killing her as well; her face was a mix of red and purple, her eyes widened and red, tears forming her eyes once more, and she was shaking. As she looked up, Brenda was kneeling by her side to help her to sit down. They could hear Andrew yelling as Sánchez and Gabriel took him away and that made whoever was still at the murder room step out to see what was going on. Brenda tried to pull Sharon up to her feet but she couldn't just do it by herself.

"A little bit of help wouldn't be a bad idea, Andy." Brenda said looking at Flynn.

"Let me help then." He said and the two of them finally managed to make the Captain stand up again.

As she's been pulled up, the brunette groaned."I'm dizzy."

"Quick, let's take her to my office." Brenda said to Flynn and they both helped the Captain along the way to get to the blonde's office, sitting her on Brenda's chair as that was the most comfortable of all. Brenda then walked around her office, turning around all the blinds to gain some privacity. "You should eat this." She said as she left the chocolate she had been carrying in her pocket on the desk.

Lifting her head up a little, Sharon eyed the rewrapped chocolate bar. "That's... That's your favorite."

"How does she know that?" Flynn asked a bit puzzled.

"We're trying to be friendly." Brenda said quickly and returned her attention to Sharon. "Andy and I are going to interrogate your ex husband and find out why he murdered William. I will not get of that room until I have the real answer."

"I could always be a bit rough..." Flynn suggested and Brenda glared at him.

"I'm sure nobody would complain if you are, Andy. I know I won't, and as soon as word spreads around about what's happened I doubt anyone will." Sharon said and then removed her glasses again.

"Fritz's going to stay here with you." Brenda said.

"I don't need a babysitter, Brenda." Sharon said and then looked at the door as Fritz was standing right there. "No offense."

"None taken." Fritz said.

"Sharon, your ex just tried to kill you and you've been under a lot of all day because of William, and now we all know what's happened to him. And you're dizzy." Brenda explained and stepped closer to the Captain. "I just want someone to keep an eye on you, and right now there's no one better than Fritz because I know he won't try to pick on you."

"Fine, I'll have Fritz as babysitter to keep me under control." Sharon said in her drama queen way and made them all laugh.

Brenda and Flynn made their way out, leaving the Captain and Fritz on their own, both hoping nothing else could happen as there's been enough drama for a day. Seeing as her squad was interested, the blonde gave them a direct order to stay away from her office as there was nothing for them. They all knew she was serious so they obeyed said order but mostly because they all gathered in the media room to see the interrogation. They hardly ever made bets but this time they decided to do so: how much would it take the Chief to make that bastard confess why did he really kill his own kid. The other bet was why he did it, though they all agreed it was because either Andrew was crazy or wanted to get back at Sharon for something.

It took four hours and thirty-six minutes for Brenda to make him confess everything, as that was when she stepped out of the interview room. None of them won the first bet but there was a tie in the second bet and as they were arguing about what to do, Brenda just stepped into the media room.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

"Well, we're trying to decide what to do with the money we all bet in..." Provenza was explaining.

"You made bets? About my interrogation to Captain Raydor's ex husband?"

"Chief, we were just..." Provenza knew he wasn't going to win that argument.

"Did anyone win?" Brenda asked, as she came up with an idea.

"No, no one did which is why we were trying to figure out what to do." Gabriel said.

"We're taking Shar... I mean, Captain Raydor out for dinner. Tonight."

"What?" Taylor asked. "You're telling us, that seeing as nobody won, we're taking her out, all of us, for dinner?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I said Commander. Her youngest child's been murdered, that son of a bitch she had as husband tried to do the same with her and she's going to need support, not only from her family and friends but also co-workers." Brenda said, meaning every word and then added. "But if none of you want to do anything, then I'll take her myself."

Looking at each other, the men came up with the same idea as they all gave the money to Provenza who then handed it to their Chief.

"Alright then, ladies night it is. And you all should go home, there's not much for any of you to do as until tomorrow we won't get the results from the autopsy."

Stepping out of the media room, Brenda then made her way to her office which still looked the same; as she walked in, she was taken aback by the sight that greeted her. Sharon Raydor was who knew how curled up in Brenda's chair, covered with a blanket which the blonde guessed had been brough up by Fritz. For once, the brunette seemed so peaceful and yet Brenda noticed she had been crying again. And she also noticed the chocolate bar was nowhere to be found.

"She ate the whole bar?" Brenda asked as Fritz approached her.

"All by herself. I think she's goiong to avoid me for a while, though."

"What? Why?" Brenda was confused.

"Well, let's say Sharon sort of poured her heart out on me between sobs and chocolate."

"Oh. I guess... Wounded ego?"

"A moment of weakness more likely." Sharon said, her voice clearly gave away she had just woken up and her eyes were still closed. "But that won't make me avoid you, Fritz."

"Good then... I guess." He said, not knowing if it was good or bad.

"That means I trust you, and Brenda as well."

Brenda smiled and walked to her desk as the brunette finally opened her eyes, looking more tired than before.

"The team made a bet about how long would it take me to make him confess it all, and as nobody won I took the money."

"So it wasn't just a terrible nightmare, eh?" Sharon was just defeated.

"I'm so sorry. Andrew confessed everything but before confirming anything we have to wait until tomorrow, as that's when we get all the results from the autopsy and evidence."

"I uh... I understand. I do... I'm just... Tired. I should go home."

"Then we'll have dinner another day." Seeing as Sharon gave her a funny look, Brenda explained further the bet. "Like I said, I took the money from the bet and I thought we could go out for dinner. Ladies night only."

"Now, don't I feel the love in the room." Fritz said joking.

"You heard the boss, all complaints should go to her, not me." Sharon said following the joke.

"Alright, you can't really blame me here for trying to improve the situation." Brenda said and then noticed the brunette's shoes on the floor. "And you're going to need those to go home."

Looking down, Sharon spotted her shoes and smiled. Removing the blanket and placing it on the desk, she reached for her shoes and put them on, just like she later put back on her glasses not caring this time if her make up was ruined or not. As she stood up, she flashed a weak smile to both Brenda and Fritz.

"I should go to my office to get my coat and purse. I just need to go home."

Brenda didn't move from her spot. "You're not going alone, I'll go with you." Seeing as the Captain was about to protest, Brenda raised her hand. "It's a direct order, Captain."

Sharon rolled her eyes and made her way towards the door. "You didn't need to do that but fine."

As they all exited the office, they noticed how the squad had made the way back into the murder room and for some reason Sharon didn't want to think about, all of them stood up as she walked by except for Flynn, who pulled her into a hug. As awkward and unexpected as it was, Sharon welcomed it and then made her way to the elevators with Brenda. Silence took over them again but unlike earlier that day, it wasn't awkward nor tense, it felt right as the blonde was showing her support and the brunette couldn't really utter the right words once more.

Reaching the parking lot, Brenda offered to use her car and Sharon just obliged as she knew herself too well to know she could be a bit of a danger driving in the state she was in. Wouldn't be the first time she has an accident feeling as bad as she did at the moment. Sure, she had never lost a child before but it was close to how she felt when her best friend died, though now it was probably a thousand times worse.

Following Sharon's directions to her home, Brenda safely drove them there yet when she was about to park in the driveway she noticed three cars already there.

"Seems like everyone's home." Sharon murmured. "My daughters, my parents and my siblings."

"You have siblings?" Brenda asked.

"Yeah, two sisters. I'm the eldest." Sharon answered and then stepped out of the car.

Brenda followed suit and walked with the brunette towards her home. She wasn't doing this as the head of the investigation, she was doing this as friend and moral support for the older woman who although drove her insane all day, deep down Brenda knew all her efforts were appreciated. And although Sharon wouldn't say it out loud, she was really thankful to have Brenda, to count on her, to go through this. She had her family, but she now had again someone she could consider her friend again. As they walked into the house, Sharon inmediately took the lead as they made their way to the living room where her family was waiting for her. They didn't need to ask questions to know William's fate as Sharon's face said it all. Tears, sobs and hugs just took over the Raydor family and although she couldn't help it Brenda hated the fact she was feeling awkward again, like a complete stranger stepping into a very private moment; however, Sharon's mother pulled her into a hug as soon as the brunette explained, briefly, who's Brenda, her friend Brenda.

Seeing as nobody had had dinner yet, even though it was late, Sharon's mother invited Brenda to stay over for dinner. Of course, the blonde was taking aback and was shocked at first but Sharon quickly told her that although she understood if she wanted to go home, she'd love it if she joined for dinner and if she did so, to call Fritz to join them all so that she wouldn't be surrounded just by Raydors. That last remark made Brenda chuckle and then she agreed to stay for dinner as she was about to call Fritz to join them. Somehow, the blonde felt as if this was Sharon's way to return that odd Christmas dinner invitation with Brenda's family and the rest of Major Crimes; not being able to help herself, she asked what was in her mind and the brunette just confirmed what she had been thinking, as well as that this time it was time for her mother to share a few embarrasing stories about her childhood with Brenda.


End file.
